new T350 with door electrics issues

[non_linear]

Hi

I've recently bought my first TVR, a T350T Red Rose in spectraflair silver. It's amazing how many people stop and come and ask about it when it is parked.

There are of course a few electrical issues. The most urgent at the moment is the drivers door which when open will intermittently keep releasing the door lock, with the window moving down an inch each time.
Opening the door is not consistent either. Sometimes it's fine, other times the latch releases quickly and the door partly opens and you need a second press of the release button.

I've checked the earth point in the passenger footwell and the connector on the ECU.
Has anyone seen this before or have any ideas?

many thanks
Stuart

[Alan_D350]

Sometimes this sort of thing can just be the button jamming, so worth making sure it moves freely and possibly worth removing to check/clean it up.

[Zippee]

On the issue with the constant releasing of the latch and window dropping – it could well be the internal door release button sticking. I had this last year and the window and door release did similar, you could try taking it out and cleaning all the connections – accessed by removing the glovebox but it is fiddly.
With the door release, the button will open the latch but the doors are not sprung so if you are on a slight lean or don’t give it a little nudge/pull when opening the door will catch on the latch (I hope that makes sense)

[fredd1e]

I'd check the easy simple things first.
Make sure the emergency release cables are fully home and free to move. it they aren't fully seated the door can open unexpectedly, I've also found giving these a few pulls and pushes can wake up a sleepy door release solenoid.
Other stuff
Swapping the door ecus over will see if the fault moves to the other door (cant recall where these are atmo, other threads likely to have details ) .
Old door seals can make the door require a 2nd attempt to get it off the catch as they loose their springyness.

Edited by fredd1e on Friday 2nd June 20:33

[brownspeed]

Door ECUs are located behind a panel in the footwells (I think its on the "outside" not the transmission tunnel side IIRC) held in with velcro

[Bobhon]

brownspeed said:

Door ECUs are located behind a panel in the footwells (I think its on the "outside" not the transmission tunnel side IIRC) held in with velcro

Same as my Tamora I think. Pull out the carpeted board at the front end of the footwell. Then lift away the carpet on the door side of the footwell. Mine wasn't velcro'd in.

You are looking for a square box about 2" (50mm) x 2" (50mm) x 2" (50mm) labelled Door Control Module.

Pull it off the connectors and spray the connections on both the ECU and the Harness with WD40.

Assembly is the reverse of removal as Mr Haynes often says.

Bob

[AOK]

Supplied by Kerridges and already having problems? Why not just create a snag list and send it back for them to sort?

PS... I own your car's close relative (number plate is 1 letter away). I dropped them an email alluding to something unique about mine which has been discovered which is worth investigating as might be the case on yours too. Did they mention it? Feel fee to DM.

[non_linear]

Thanks to everyone for their quick replies.

The driver side ECU is indeed in the footwell, rattling around with the dash ECU (something else to sort). Swapping it with the passenger side one to eliminate either the ECU or the wiring sounds like the logical next step. It must have been replaced already as it has "Sag" written on it, and dated a year after the car was built.

Great tips about checking the release buttons (internal and external) and checking the emergency release pulls.

I bought it through Kerridges as a commission sale, so it wasn't prepared or warrantied by them.
I've dropped you a PM AOK.

[Chim450]

Sounds like the window encoder to me. I've had this problem a couple of times on my Tuscan and have sourced and fitted myself. It's a relatively easy fix.
Do a search in the forums to see if it sounds the same as your problem.

[non_linear]

Thanks Chim

I spent most of Saturday working out why the horn and steering wheel buttons don't work so can't face looking at any more electrics this week.

The "clock spring" cable behind the steering wheel is broken. For those interested it's off a MK3 Mondeo.

[T350 Al]

Also worth checking the microswitch in the door latch to make sure it's not duff before splashing out on a new encoder. Had similar sorts of issues on our T350 at one point that had me chasing shadows for ages. The fault wasn't obvious by looking at it either, needed to put a Fluke across it to diagnose that it was working intermittently. Simple enough to replace as well, and cost less than a fiver.

[non_linear]

Thanks Al

I think there will be a lot of shadow chasing,
I suspect there may be multiple faults. On one occasion the door was open and the window spontaneously, slowly crept down a few cm. That sounds like it could be the encoder. I've only seen that once though.

On other occasions the latch release fires off randomly, with the window dropping each time, fortunately only when the door is already open.

I've noticed that the passenger door opens with a single release of the latch, while the drivers door consistently gives a double release, even though it springs open.

Now I've got the steering wheel squib replaced I can give this some time, although sorely tempted just to drive it.